


Light of My Life

by VeryMauk_aGast



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: DON'T WORRY they have Revivify, Fluff, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Marriage Proposal, Non-Permanent Character Death, Nott is basically Caleb's mom, Parent Nott (Critical Role), Romantic Fluff, Widofjord Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 05:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19244956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryMauk_aGast/pseuds/VeryMauk_aGast
Summary: As the light of his life was almost extinguished in battle, Fjord realizes where his priorities lie, and what he has to do next.(AKA, the one where Caleb almost dies for good, Fjord is hopelessly in love, and eventually proposes).





	Light of My Life

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "Fluff" prompt for WidoFjord Week 2019.

“Who’s taking what watch?” Caduceus asked as the Mighty Nein settled in for the evening. After a long day of battles and travel, they were more than ready for some shut eye.

“I’ll take first,” Beau volunteered.

“I’ll stay up with Beau,” Yasha said quietly. Fjord grinned as he watched Beau try to keep a giddy look off her face.

“Jester and I can take second watch,” Nott said.

Fjord swallowed deeply. “Actually, I’ll take second watch with you, Nott.”

Jester gave him a strange look, but shrugged. Caleb also looked at him curiously. “You don’t want to take watch with me?”

“You’re not taking a watch tonight,” Fjord said firmly. “You need to sleep it off.” Caleb went to protest, but Fjord just reached up to gently stroke Caleb’s cheek, eyeing the angry red slash mark across the human’s throat.

“Yeah, man,” Beau crossed her arms with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ expression.  “You fucking _died_ , Caleb!”

 Caleb glared at her. “Yes, and Jester brought me back. There’s no reason I cannot-”

“You need rest, Caleb,” Jester soothed, patting his shoulder with her tail. “It’ll make you feel better!”

You heard the cleric! To bed!” Nott ordered, pointing to one of their tents.

“But, I… Fine.”

Fjord kissed Caleb on the top of his head before the wizard walked over to their shared tent. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Caleb rolled his eyes and affectionately squeezed Fjord’s hand as he left the circle.

Caduceus looked over at the tiefling. “Guess that leaves you and me on third watch, Jester.”

“We’ll do three-hour shifts,” Beau said as she stretched.

Nott glanced suspiciously over at Fjord as he went to go start his night in the tent with Caleb. Fjord didn’t blame her. He’d never volunteered to take watch with Nott before. Sure, it’d happened a few times before, but neither generally jumped at the chance to pair off. If anything, they usually ended up doing boulder, parchment, shears over who would take watch with Caleb. Though lately Nott had been much more willing to let Fjord take those shifts.

He walked into the tent as Caleb was changing into his sleep clothes. Fjord caught another look at the scar running across the human’s throat. Fjord shuddered. They’d almost lost Caleb today. Fjord closed the space between them by shuffling closer. Caleb smiled at him as Fjord enveloped the wizard in his arms.

Caleb sighed. “I cannot put on my shirt with you draped over me,  _liebling_.”

“I’m better than a shirt,” Fjord muttered into Caleb’s hair.

Fjord felt the comforting rumble of a deep chuckle against his chest. “ _Ja_ , I suppose that is fair. You are much warmer anyway.”

Fjord pressed a kiss to the top of Caleb’s head before he pulled away. “C’mon. You really do need to rest,” he whispered. Caleb slid into his sleep shirt as Fjord pulled off his armor. Fjord couldn’t stop staring at the new scar on the human’s pale throat.

“I am fine,” Caleb said, seeing Fjord’s distress. “Honestly. Jester said it should fade with a couple more spells, and it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“I almost lost you.” Fjord’s voice cracked a bit with the heavy truth of the words. “You were gone, Caleb. Completely gone.”

Caleb closed the space between them and ran his hands through Fjord’s short hair. “I’m back though. I am not going anywhere,  _mein liebling_. You cannot get rid of me so easily.” Fjord closed his eyes and just let the calm honesty of Caleb’s words wash over him. He never wanted Caleb to leave his side again. He wanted Caleb for the rest of eternity. “ _Ich liebe dich_ , Fjord.”

“I love you too, Caleb.”

***

The night air was unusually calm. Owls chirped in the forest around them, and the hum of bugs surrounded them, but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to materialize.

Nott was carefully tying new arrowheads to shafts of wood to create more arrows while Fjord was nervously drawing random patterns on his thigh as he watched the forest for signs of trouble. When it became pretty clear in the middle of their watch that nothing was going to come out and get them, Fjord let himself relax a little.

“Hey, Nott?”

“Hmm?” she said notching another bit of sharpened steel into an arrow shaft.

“Remember when you said that you and Caleb had a special relationship? And that you were like his parent in a lotta ways?”

“Of course,” she replied, looking up from her work to gaze at Fjord curiously.

“I just wanted to thank you for it.”

“Why?”

“Kept him safe. Gave him good advice. Helped him see how much we love him… You’ve really done a lot for him. For all of us really, but Caleb especially.”

The goblin narrowed her eyes in the darkness. Her yellow pupils shimmered in the flickering light of the fire. “He’s my boy.”

“I know. I know he is. Thank you for that. He needs a family…”

“I’d say he’s found a pretty good one here,” Nott said.

Fjord smiled softly in the darkness thinking of their little ragtag group of friends. “Yeah. They’re pretty great.”

“You’re included in that, too, Fjord,” she said surprisingly seriously. Fjord was a little shocked at that. The goblin picked on him so much that sometimes it seemed like she really didn’t like him. “He would’ve died today without you.”

***

_Fjord’s entire universe shattered and went pitch black as he saw the dagger pierce through Caleb’s chest._

_The assassin chuckled darkly, staring right at Fjord as the human choked on the blood rising in his throat. With a quick flip of his wrist the drow yanked the blade out and brought it up to Caleb’s throat to finish the job._

_Fjord screamed as Caleb’s lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud of crimson._

_Time slowed. Fjord knew they only had seconds before Caleb slipped away forever. His body moved on its own as he lunged forward to thrust the falchion at the drow. “Jester!” he yelled at the top of his lungs._

_Everything was a haze of blurred movement before Fjord saw himself wrenching the falchion into the drow’s stomach. He let out a sick gurgle, and grinned at Fjord, unafraid of death. Fjord knocked the drow off his blade and onto the ground away from Caleb’s body. Before the drow knew what hit him, Fjord slammed the blade deep into his chest to end his life completely. The threat was gone._

Caleb _._

 _“Jester! Help!” he screamed. Where the hell was she? Fjord scrambled over to Caleb’s lifeless body. “Caleb, no,” he choked out. “Caleb!” Fjord placed a hand on Caleb’s bloodstained cheek. “No, I am_ not _gonna lose you!”_

_With a soft woosh of air the cleric skidded to a stop by Fjord. “Fjord, wha- Caleb!” she squealed, dropping to the wizard’s other side._

_“Diamond,” Fjord croaked. “He’s gone. Get the diamond!”_

_Jester frantically scrambled through her bag, and brought out a beautiful, sparkling diamond. “Step back, Fjord,” she ordered, eyes narrowing with concentration as she started chanting._

_Fjord numbly followed her command, scooting a couple feet back as he watched the diamond start glowing with radiant energy in her palms. Fjord watched as a shady, shimmering image of a mysterious hooded figure loomed over Jester to cup her hands in their own. With a final word, the diamond shattered into millions of tiny pieces, like star dust in the sky. The shards layered on top of Caleb’s body. They sank into him, dematerializing into a rainbow of crystalline light._

_“C’mon, c’mon,_ c’mon _,” Fjord chanted desperately._

_The ethereal light illuminated the entire area as Fjord watched the open wounds on Caleb’s throat and chest close instantaneously. The visage of the hooded figure dissipated, and the light dulled as quickly as it flared._

_The sharp noise of a gasp filled the area as Fjord watched those brilliant blue eyes fly open. “Caleb!” Fjord’s voice cracked under the relief of seeing the human breathing once more._

_“Thank the Traveler,” Jester said softly as she patted Caleb’s chest gently. “It’s okay, you’re alright.”_

_“Jester…Fjord…”_

_“We’re here. It’s okay,” Fjord shushed as he gently lifted Caleb’s torso off the ground so that he was sitting up._

_Caleb’s breathing was erratic and panicked. Fjord carefully gathered the smaller man into a hug of reassurance. “Fjord,” he whispered._

_“I’ve got you. It’s okay. You’re safe, Caleb. You’re safe now.”_

_“_ Fjord _.”_

***

Fjord shuddered as the horrifying memories of the days events reeled through his vision. “I was so fucking scared, Nott,” he admitted.

The goblin set her fletching supplies down on the ground and padded forward to Fjord’s side. She carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t say anything, but the gesture was comforting. Fjord sighed and placed his own hand over the top of her tiny one.

“Nott, I love him so much,” he choked out after a minute.

“I know, Fjord,” she replied.

“I’ve never… I've never really known what it feels like. I didn’t think it would be this terrifying.”

Not nodded. “It’s worth it though,” she said quietly. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“Of course it is. I just… He means so much to me.”

“You mean a lot to him, too,” she said.

It was a little weird. Usually his interactions with Nott were full of barbed comments and ribbing back and forth. The sheer weight of the conversation didn’t really fit their dynamic most of the time, but it was a strangely nice change of pace.

“I gotta ask you somethin’ before I lose my nerve,” Fjord said taking his hand off of Nott’s to fumble in his pocket. He swallowed the thick lump in his throat before pulling out a small drawstring pouch. Nott’s eyes widened as she watched Fjord open it and dump a tiny object into his other hand.

The ring was something he’d thought about a lot when he’d commissioned it. It was a small, silver band with glowing blue and green script encircling it. He held it out with a shaky palm to let Nott see it. She picked it up with curiosity and spun it around in the dull light of their campfire.

“What does it say? I can’t read either of these.”

“The green says ‘ _W_ _e’ll Find a Way_ ,’ in orcish, and the blue says ‘ _Forever and Always_ ’ in Zemnian,” Fjord whispered.

Nott chuckled. “That’s incredibly sappy, Fjord.” She very carefully handed the ring back to him. “Didn’t think you were much of a romantic.”

“He brings out the best in me,” Fjord said with a grin at the familiar teasing. The grin dropped away as he took another deep breath. “Listen, Nott. I have a lot of respect for you despite all our back-and-forth. And I know you’re not my biggest fan either, but I really hope you’ll at least consider my question.”

“I’m listening.”

“I want to marry Caleb,” he said earnestly. “Nott, I’ve never been in love before, but I know he’s the best thing that’s happened to me in my life. I love him, and if he’ll have me, I’d love to have him for the rest of our lives.” The goblin woman just eyed him carefully as he continued. “Since you’re the closest he has to a parent, I wanted to ask you for your blessing. I know how important you are to Caleb, so it’s important for me, too.”

She was quiet for a few moments before she patted his arm again. “You make Caleb so happy. And you’ve kept him safe… And, you know, for all my teasing I know you’re a good person, and I do respect you. I know that you care very deeply about this group. About Caleb. You have my blessing.”

Fjord let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Nott. It means a lot.”

“So when’s the proposal?”

“I’m not really sure. I’m not exactly the most romantic person, so I figured I might enlist Jester’s help for planning something.”

Nott shook her head with a small cackle of laughter. “Bad idea. Not only will everyone else know about it, but it’ll also be super overboard, loud, and intense.” That description fit Jester’s antics perfectly.

“What should I do then?”

“Just think on it. You know him better than any of us. I’m sure he’ll love whatever you come up with,” Nott replied.

***

“Fjord, we really should get back to our watch,” Caleb fretted beside him as they walked hand in hand through the trees.

“Don’t worry about it darlin’,” Fjord soothed carefully. “Nott’s keepin’ watch on the camp.”

Fjord wanted to kiss the worried expression off the human’s face as he let Fjord tug him along. “But it is our watch,” he protested feebly.

“Nott owed me a favor, so I decided to cash it in. Don’t worry. I don’t think this’ll take long.”

Fjord’s heart was beating furiously in his chest, and he had to keep wiping the sweat off his free palm. He refused to let go of Caleb’s hand though. If Caleb noticed the moisture, he was kind enough not to mention anything.

After another five minutes of walking Fjord and Caleb arrived at the edge of a happily babbling brook. The silver-white moonlight from the sky illuminated the splashing water and gave it a softer, almost ethereal look. It was stunning.

“ _Liebling_?” Caleb whispered. “What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see,” Fjord said letting go of Caleb’s hand to turn and face him. “Would you mind giving us some extra light, darlin’?”

Caleb flicked his wrists gracefully as four orbs of golden, glowing light danced and dipped in the air, circling to the slow beat of imaginary music. It illuminated the air, and as Fjord saw Caleb illuminated with the silvers and golds, he swore he’d caught a true glimpse of the heavens.

“What is it?” Caleb asked, fiddling with his coat sleeves. “Why are you looking at me like that, Fjord?”

“You’re stunning. I love you, Caleb,” he said quietly.

“ _I_ _ch liebe dich, auch_ , Fjord.” Fjord wasn’t sure what the hell he’d ever done to deserve the honest sincerity behind Caleb’s words, but he would be forever grateful he was on the receiving end of them.

Fjord took a deep breath and took half a step back from Caleb to turn his attention to the water. He let the magic flow from his fingertips and concentrated on the stream enough to arch a thick strand through the air above their heads. Caleb watched with quiet fascination, and Fjord was so proud to be the reason the human’s bright blue eyes sparkled brilliantly.

He’d been practicing this for weeks, trying to get it just right for this exact moment. The lilting stream of crystal clear water split into two strands and gently wound their way in opposite directions around the pair. They stopped short of the ground and joined together at the bottom to form a slowly swirling circle a few feet back from their ankles.

“Fjord, it’s beautiful,” Caleb said reverently. As the human was distracted by the intricate pattern the water created around them, Fjord pulled a small drawstring pouch out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. Caleb heard the movement and snapped his head back to focus on where Fjord was kneeling. “Fjord?” He couldn’t help but smile at the small crack in Caleb’s voice.

“Caleb. I love you. You’re everything to me. I can’t imagine walking on this plane without you by my side for the rest of forever. You're the light of my life, and I love you more than anything.”

“ _Fjord_.” One syllable, whispered like a prayer in the midnight glow, was enough to make tears of emotion pool at the corner of Fjord’s eyes. He fumbled just the tiniest second to get the ring out of its pouch. The silver glinted warmly under the glow of Caleb’s dancing lights.

“Will you marry me, Caleb Widogast?”

Stunned silence started to smother Fjord. Caleb wasn’t speaking. He was just breathing heavily and staring at the small sign of Fjord’s love nestled against the green skin of his palm. Just as Fjord’s heart was about to shatter from the sting of rejection, Caleb murmured a couple of words in a language Fjord didn’t understand.

The orange-red light of two fire bolts caused their space to flare brighter as the flames snaked and curved through the empty spaces in the streams of water. The opposing elements occasionally clashed, sending small breaths of steam through the air as they danced. It was powerful. It was beautiful. It was _Caleb_.

“Yes,” Caleb said. Fjord could see the faint glistening of unshed tears clumped on the human’s eyelashes as he gasped out the single word. “ _Meine Götter,_   _ja, mein liebling_!”

“Give me your hand, Caleb,” he said breathlessly as the human presented his left hand for Fjord. The night seemed to still and everything faded away into the background as Fjord slipped the ring onto Caleb’s finger. “I love you so much, darlin’. Thank you.”

As soon as the ring securely marked his betrothed, Fjord surged up from his kneeling position and cupped Caleb’s face in his hands to bring his lips to Caleb’s. Caleb stood on his tiptoes to press in tight against Fjord as the human wound his arms around Fjord’s waist. He felt the splash of water rebounding from the earth and heard the fizzle of flames as they both lost concentration on their elements to give each other their all. The golden glow of Caleb’s dancing lights faded until all that was left was the soft warmth of the moons and stars in the sky and murmured whispers of love against swollen lips.

**Author's Note:**

> Special thanks to the WidoFjord Discord for being a constant source of inspiration and encouragement. 
> 
> Comments and Kudos give me extra inspiration dice, and are always much appreciated! Much love, everyone <3


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